Uruguay: A state marijuana monopoly?

Bucking the trend of declining cocaine use in the United States, coca paste use (similar to crack cocaine) in Uruguay has been identified by the country’s current presidential administration as such a problem that it is proposing legislation to sell marijuana. The plan is a step beyond the decriminalization measures proposed by many countries in the region because it includes the sale, regulation and control of marijuana by the state.

Uruguayan President José Mujica’s rationale is simple and turns “the gateway drug” concept on its head. The gateway drug concept argues that if individuals are prevented from using a “soft” drug like marijuana, they are less likely to use a “hard” drug like cocaine. It has long been espoused by the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy in anti-drug literature and official strategy reports.

Uruguay is taking the opposite tack. If drug users can use marijuana in a regulated legal environment that can undercut any black market, the Uruguayan president is betting they will be less likely to use coca paste. In this sense marijuana is not a “gateway,” but a “gatekeeper” drug. By selling marijuana openly and legally, users do not have to go to unregulated drug dealers with an incentive to sell more profitable “hard” drugs. This approach appears to have been successful in the Netherlands where regulated “coffee shops” sell marijuana but no other drugs.

Mujica may have a point. The gateway drug concept is hotly debated. A RAND analysis of U.S. drug-use surveys has shown that there are plausible alternate explanations for the perceived gateway effect. RAND’s study pointed to three alternate factors: drug-users tend to have access to marijuana earlier in life, drug-use propensity and chance. According to the research brief on the 2002 report:

The phenomena supporting claims that marijuana is a gateway drug also support the alternative explanation: that it is not marijuana use but individuals’ opportunities and unique propensities to use drugs that determine their risk of initiating hard drugs. The research does not disprove the gateway theory; it merely shows that another explanation is plausible.

The Uruguayan proposal

The Uruguayan plan, which is in the draft phases in the executive branch, will likely be amended by the legislature. The proposal as it is discussed now would have the following characteristics:

Creates a state monopoly on the marijuana market

Would monitor use

Prices will be set low enough to deter any alternative black market.

Profits from sales would go toward treatment and rehabilitation centers.

Whether or not the proposal will come to fruition is unknown, but the Uruguayan proposal is notable in that it goes further than previous calls in the region to decriminalize drugs by including mechanisms to regulate cultivation and potency. The plan is being described as a way to reduce drug-related violence, which has seen a recent uptick in Uruguay — particularly troubling given the fact that the country is one of the safest in the region. Mujica has argued that Uruguay as a small nation may be a good testing ground this type of solution.

The plan is bold and appears well thought out. If enacted, it would likely de-link marijuana users from dealers with access to “hard” drugs and remove marijuana users from the unregulated illicit market as has been the case in the Netherlands.

Nathan Jones is the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy at the Baker Institute. His areas of interest include U.S.-Mexico security issues, illicit networks and cross-border flows.

7 Responses

Ah, but just like the U.S., Uruguay isn’t allowed to legalize adult marijuana sales, because that’d violate the UN’s “Single Convention” treaty. The UN has already warned it about this plan! Either the UN’s going to push Uruguay back in line like the rest of us or Uruguay’s going to have to withdraw from the Single Convention like Bolivia did.

We like to think that we make our own decisions, but when it comes to marijuana the UN doesn’t allow us to do that. No matter how much harm it causes, no matter how little benefit it yields, the UN will NEVER allow us to end the federal marijuana prohibition, and will also NEVER take the time to ask itself if marijuana should even be illegal. Are we the greatest country in the world or are we a lapdog for the United Nations?

You are mistaken about the Single Convention treaties being a significant stumbling block. Signatories are allowed to withdraw from the treaties. Bolivia did so on 7/1/2011 because the UN refused to grant them a waiver for coca leaf production.

For details Google: bolivia withdraws “un single convention”

I find it to be patently ludicrous to suggest that the US can’t do whatever it wants with regards to the treaties. It’s the US that bullies and bribes other countries into swearing fealty to the epic failure of public policy which we call the war on (some) drugs.

I say the heck with the U.N. Countries can’t wait for the blessing of those clowns. Let’s see what happens when the legalize it. Tourism is sure to go up.

Blog Search

Keyword search across all the entries in this blog.

Search

Top Videos

The mission of the nonpartisan James A. Baker III Institute for Public
Policy is to help bridge the gap between theory and practice of public
policy by drawing together experts from academic, government, media, business
and nongovernmental organizations. By involving policymakers, scholars
and students, the institute seeks to improve the debate on selected public
policy issues and to make a difference in the formulation, implementation and
evaluation of public policy. The institute’s more than 20 programs, which include research, speaking series, events and special projects, have helped attract a host of prominent leaders who provide their views and insights on key issues.